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All good things must come to an end. After a decade of steady and reliable service, Windows 7 will no longer be supported as of January 2020. While Microsoft has only provided updates to paid support clients since 2015, end of life means no more security updates for anyone. What will that mean for your business? As it turns out, quite a lot.

Any computer running Windows 7 in a medical context will be out of compliance with HIPAA.

The longer your operating system goes without updates, the more vulnerable it becomes. Every month that goes by is another month bad actors have to sift through the software for vulnerabilities. When an operating system is no longer patched, more of those flaws can be found and exploited.

If you use your computer to store or transmit confidential data, Windows 7 support ending will leave your data vulnerable to attack. Losing patient data can cost you thousands under HIPPA regulations. Even if you aren’t in the medical field, you could be exposed to lawsuits for breach of privacy.

It isn’t just HIPAA violations you have to worry about.

PCI compliance companies will no longer be supporting Windows 7 machines past January of 2020. The lack of updates and support leaves the computer vulnerable. As a result, payment processors will no longer assume liability in the case of a data breach. This could leave you owing clients thousands if your machine is hacked.

Even if you never process credit or debit cards and don’t store medical records, your business data will still be vulnerable. Hackers could learn your tax ID, get your financial records, or worse.

Keep yourself and your business safe.

We have advance warning about Windows 7’s end of life. Since we know exactly when it’s happening, you can take steps to prepare. Call or message Problem 86 today, and eighty-six your old OS. You don’t want to be left holding the bag when support ends.